Glycans and lectins play crucial roles in the function of cells and organs, and in the immune system of animals and humans. Viral pathogens use glycans and lectins that are encoded by their own or the host genome for their replication and spread. This talk will focus on the role and importance of glycans in rotavirus and influenza virus infections. The ability of human rotaviruses to infect host cells and cause disease for example is substantially determined by the cellular expression of receptors bound by virus, thus facilitating virus penetration of the cell membrane and delivery into the cell. We have discovered that the GM1 ganglioside is an essential cell receptor for the clinical relevant human rotavirus Wa strain. Human blood group antigens have also been shown to play a role in rotavirus cell attachment and invasion and our recently published NMR study sheds light on this important glycan-virus interaction. In a second part of this lecture I will present recent results on elucidating the glycan-interaction map (glycointeractome) of influenza virus and new results that challenge current accepted paradigms.

Beyond sweet attractions: Structural insights into host-cell glycan interactions of human pathogens

254th National Meeting (2017)

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